LEARNING FOR BEHAVIOURAL ADAPTATION OR
SOCIAL ADAPTATION: 'ADAPTABILITY'

theme: Human survival depends on behaviour which is
effective because it produces responsive behaviour which is creative or
'adaptive'. Adaptive behaviour depends on accurate evaluation of environmental
changes. Extent of
accuracy depends on the individual's level of personal development which is a
function of personal experience or 'education'. Effective education allows
for freedom of the instinctive drive to make meaning of the complexities of
environmental stimuli i.e. 'meaningful learning' or 'experiential learning'.
Experiential learning is a function of responsiveness to change in the
environment i.e. 'adaptability'.Adaptability
depends on creative living or creativity i.e.
'creative intelligence'.

"For adjustment to the environment, one must learn to control and
evaluate perceptions, and to extract information necessary for survival. For
intellectual and spiritual growth, one must be prepared to change one's ideas in
the face of new evidence... People cannot be expected to be confidently
adaptable at such a basic level unless they have the security of a stable
self-image... a reasoned and realistic awareness of their own powers and their
individual worth, tempered by an equal respect for the worth of others."
(David Purpel, 1989. The Moral and Spiritual Crisis in Education: A Curriculum
for Justice and Compassion in Education. Masschusetts, Bergin and Garvey
Publishers, Inc.p.57) or (N. Goble, 'The Changing Role of the Teacher', The
Function of Teaching, Paris: UNESCO 1977, 57)

The human organism as a social
organism is intrinsically
motivated for behaviour which is adaptive to changes in the social environment...
'intrinsic motivation'... In human evolution, survival of the organism
depends on its instinctive capacity to adapt to changing social conditions in a
complex environment i.e. behavioural adaptation or 'adaptability'. The
individual's behaviour is adaptive or non-adaptive depending on the accuracy of evaluation of the environment. The
capacity for evaluation depends on the individual's ability
to make meaning of complex environmental stimuli or 'learn'. Learning is
the result of observation and inquiry based on
interest or 'curiosity' - the driving force of natural learning
i.e. 'intrinsic motivation'. Intrinsic motivation
for adaptive behaviour is characteristic of any biological organism. The
human organism is a social organism which is similarly motivated for behaviour adaptive to its social environment. Social adaptability depends on
philosophical and scientific observation and inquiry for understanding
experience i.e. 'experiential learning'.
Experiential learning
- a natural function of the social 'brain' (brain
functions') - combines learning with life experience
while engaging personality development. Growth through learning is based
on specialised mental processes or 'thinking skills'.
Adaptability depends on the organism’s ability to formulate mental
frameworks for thoughts or ‘concepts’. Thoughts color the perceptions of the
environment. Perceptions are influenced by culture childhood experiences and
upbringing. Concepts are life’s guideposts which help in the interpretation of
environmental stimuli derived from events and circumstances. Comparisons are
made with existing concepts regarding the way one thinks the world is… or what
it should be… and the organism reacts accordingly. The person with
inner freedom is able to adapt to the environment as it is rather than as he
thinks it should be.

Play
of the mind goes on whether or not we are aware of it. Our ideas about the world are often
the result of lifelong thinking habits, and therefore we forget to question or
reevaluate them

The process of adaptation to environmental
change is based on two complementary mental processes: assimilation and accomodationFirst the new experience is interpreted or 'assimilated' in
terms of the current mode of understanding things i.e. the 'cognitive level';
second, thinking is modified to 'accomodate' those features of the experience
which cannot be explained by the same cognitive level. Assimilation and accomodation are complementary aspects of all psychological activity involved in
understanding the changing environment. As a result of this continuous
dynamic of 'equilibration', behaviour is modified in a process of adaptation
which involves greater balance between the individual and the environment. Each
new situation cause imbalance which is corrected in the overall process of
adaptation. See Piaget'equilibrium,
disequilibrium, re-equilibrium'.

"Upon the biological level, organisms have to respond to conditions about
them in ways that modify those conditions and the relations of organisms to them
so as to restore the reciprocal adaptation that is required for maintenance of
life functions. Human organisms are involved in the same sort of predicament.
Because of the effect of cultural conditions, the problems involved not only
have different contents but are capable of statement as problems so that inquiry
can enter as a factor in their resolution. Modes of response are correspondingly transfornmed. They avail themselves of the significance which things have
acquired, and of the meanings provided by language. ....the environment in which
human beings are directly involved is the 'common sense' environment or 'world'
and the inquiries that take place in making the required adjustments in behavior
are 'common sense' inquiries." (Rosen H. The Development of Sociomoral
Knowledge: A Cognitive - Structural Approach. New York: Columbia University
Press, 1980. 60)

Accomodation depends on meaningful learning or
'experiential learning'.
Learning is first encoded and retained as 'short term memory' and then
encoded for storage as 'long term memory'.

The brain is specialised for
learning which is meaningful for adaptation... depends of learning as 'meaningful
learning' Function of learning is to allow for for adaptation to changes in
the environment ...not to gain control over the environment (traditional
paradigm)

Discovery in
learning as 'disciplined inquiry'...

"In 1934 the brilliant Russian psychologist Vygotsky
characterized the growth of thought processes as starting with a dialogue of
speech and gesture between child and parent. (Thinking and Speech) Autonomous
thinking begins at the stage when the child is first able to internalize these
conversations and 'run them off' himself. ...once internalization takes place,
the child is in a position to experience success and failure not as reward and
punishment but as information. Seeking to gain control over
his environment, the child can treat success as indicating that he is on the
right track, failure as indicting that he is on the wrong one."
(Bruner J. On Knowing: Essays for the Left Hand Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press, 1962, 90)

The human brain is characterized by a natural capacity
for observation and inquiry, essential for the learning process which is
necessary for survival of the individual in a complex environment. Constituting
the human being's natural the brain's natural capacity for
observation and inquiry... 'curiosity'... characteristic features of the specialized human
brain of the socialized human being.

the human species has evolved a brain with the
specialized capacity for meaningful learning and adaptive behavior.
In human evolution... evolution of the human
species, survival of the organism depends on its
instinctive capacity to adapt to changing conditions i.e. behavioural adaptation
or 'adaptability'. Adaptability depends on the individual's ability to derive
meaning from the complexity of environnmental stimuli...or
'learn' from experience i.e. 'meaningful' or 'experiential learning'... experiential learning is a natural capacity of the organ of learning or 'brain'.
Those brain functions which result in effective thinking produce
adaptive behavior The function of the brain is to process
complex environmental stimuli and then make effective decisions for adaptive behaviour. The processing of information is a function of the highly developed
mental process of thinking or 'cognition'. Cognition involves the brain's
capacity to see patterns and to detect them as quickly as possible.

In a natural process of meaningful learning, the brain is driven by the
instinctive need to search for meaning in the complexity of the environment...
the brain automatically responds to complexity. The innate drive to search for
meaning in a complex environment comprises the driving force behind the highly
developed mental processes manifest in the brain's thinking skills. Survival of
the organism depends on behavioral adaptation. Human adaptive behavior depends
on the brain's capacity to make decisions. Adaptive decision making depends on
the brain's capacity to process information in order to derive meaning from a
complex environment. Processing complex information requires effective thinking.
Effective thinking depends on the brain's capacity to seek patterns and detect
them as quickly as possible. The brain's pattern seeking capacity is influenced
by the nature of the peripheral stimuli in the environment - the physical,
social, cultural and emotional environments.

Adaptation depends on ability of the brain to process complex information...
'complex learning' involves 'holistic perception' and 'complete cognition'... depends on the brain's
function as a 'pattern detector'The human brain is a social brain specialised for
experiential learning which is meaningful for adaptation to the social
environment i.e. 'meaningful learning'. Meaningful learning is a function
of the brain's capacity to process complex environmental stimuli and make decisions
which lead to creative or 'adaptive' behaviour. Processing of information
is a function of the highly developed mental processes of thinking - a mental process of the brain or 'mind' involving the 'orchestration' of 'thinking
skills' of 'complex learning' -
questioning, organising, analysing, associating, integrating, synthesizing,
evaluating mental data for the acquisition of knowledge required for effective decision-making
and purposeful adaptation. Knowledge is acquired in the 'act of knowing'
or 'cognition'. Cognition combines the functioning of conscious intellect or 'reason'
with
unconscious affect or 'emotion'. The emotional aspect of cognition
depends on the way in which the individual perceives the 'social reality'
- their
worldview or 'paradigm'. Perception is accurate or innaccurate depending on the mind's perception of the self... the individual's sense of identity
which is a function of their level of awareness or
'consciousness state'. Consciousness state is defined by the naturally
flexible valuing system of moral consiousness i.e. rational 'conscience'
. The word 'conscience' is derived from Latin'conscientia'for
moral awareness - from 'con'
meaning 'with'
and 'scire' meaning 'to know'.
Development of conscience is 'personality development' or
'moral development'.

Development occurs through the different levels of consciousness or 'modes
of knowing' i.e. 'sociocognitive
stages'.

The brain's capacity for holistic perception depends on its
ability to integrate
complex environmental stimuli by detecting patterns as quickly as possible. As a pattern detector,
the brain focuses on a set of environmental stimuli which are rapidly processed
in the context of stimuli which are peripheral to the field of focus - physical,
emotional, social, cultural environments i.e. 'cultural
context'. For the human
individual in a cultural context, the nature of reality is determined by the
individual's perception of the cultural environment which depends on the
cultural history, cultural values and belief systems of the 'cultural
consciousness'. Stimuli from the cultural environment are directly related to the basic
assumptions underlying the values of the culture. They are perceived and
processed by the brain at the subconscious level of brain functioning.

Its pattern seeking capacity is influenced by the peripheral stimuli
of the physical, social, cultural and emotional environments.

Complex environmental stimuli include those in the field
of focused attention and those which are peripheral to it. The brain processes
environmental stimuli which are in the field of focused attention and at the
same time it processes those stimuli which are peripheral to it. In processing
information from the environment, the brain focuses on specific stimuli and
responds on the conscious level of awareness while responding to peripheral
stimuli at the subconscious level. Instinctively it processes the stimuli in
focus in the context of peripheral stimuli. The meanings attached to the
peripheral stimuli determine the context in which the brain consciously
processes stimuli in focus.The brain's conscious interpretation of the focused
stimuli depends on its subconscious interpretation of the peripheral stimuli.
The brain consciously remembers, organizes, analyzes, integrates and evaluates
the information in terms of the contextual framework of the subconsciously
perceived peripheral stimuli.

The brain's evaluation of the environment determines the individual's
behavior. Depending on the accuracy of the brain's evaluation of the
environment, the individual's subsequent behavior is adaptive or non-adaptive

Behaviour is
determined by the brain's evaluation of the environment... 'perception' ('karma') The individual's behaviour is adaptive or non-adaptive
depending on the accuracy of the brain's evaluation of the environment.

Overall, in the instinctive drive to derive meaning from
a complex environment, the brain focuses of a set of environmental stimuli,
rapidly processes information in the context of peripheral stmuli, encodes the
information in the short term memory for storage in the long term memory,
processes the information by organizing, analyzing, integrating and evaluating
in order to make a quick decision for purposeful adaptation to a changing
environment.

Quick and effective thinking results in the individual's
adaptive behavior. Behavioral adaptation depends on an effective thinking
process which involves the combined functioning of intellectual, affective and
creative states of the 'mind'. The mind's perception of itself
determines the individual's thinking and perception of reality. It
determines the individual's perception of reality in a social and cultural
context. The total and integrated functioning of the brain results in a wholistic perception of reality. The brain-based wholistic perception of reality
forms the basis for adaptive behavior.

the mind perceives reality - social and cultural reality
- according to the individual's level of consciousness or level of awareness.
Referred to as the mind's 'modes of knowing', the different levels of
consciousness determine the individual's sense of identity. The mind's
perception of itself determines the individual's thinking and perception of
reality. It determines the individual's perception of reality in a social and
cultural context. The total and integrated functioning of the brain results in a wholistic perception of reality i.e.
'holistic perception'. The brain-based wholistic perception of reality forms
the basis for adaptive behavior.

For the human individual in a cultural context, the
nature of reality is determined by the nature of the cultural environment. The
cultural environment is determined by the cultural values and belief systems.
Stimuli from the cultural environment are directly related to the basic
assumptions underlying the values of the culture. They are peripheral to the
stimuli in the field of focused attention. As peripheral stimuli, they are
processed by the brain at the subconscious level. The cultural values are a
product of the cultural belief systems which make up the so-called 'cultural
consciousness'. Cultural consciousness depends on the cultural history.
The cultural history forms the basis of the cultural consciousness, source of
the peripheral stimuli processed subconsciously by the individual in a cultural
context. The individual's thought and behavior patterns are influenced by the
subconsciously processed peripheral stimuli from the cultural environment. .

Peripheral stimuli are processed subconsciously in the
context of cultural belief systems of the culture i.e. 'cultural
context'.

The individual's thought and behavior patterns are
influenced by the subconsciously processed peripheral stimuli from the cultural
environment. The learning process combines the processing of environmental
peripheral stimuli with conscious thought processes involved in cognition.

Degree of accuracy of evaluation... Perception is complete or incomplete
depending on the stage of development... is a
function of the level of personal development based on fulfillment of human
motives for learning or 'human
needs' Behavioral adaptation depends on an effective thinking process which
involves the combined functioning of intellectual, affective and creative states
of the 'mind'. The mind is the manifestation of the natural thinking functions of the
brain... perceives social reality according to
the individual's level of awareness 'consciousness state'. ..mind's 'modes of knowing'
or 'knowledge'. The different levels of
consciousness determine the individual's sense of identity.

The degree to which conscience is developed
determines whether cognition is complete or incomplete. Cognition is incomplete
if moral development is incomplete. Cognition is complete if moral development
is complete. In the cognitive process the unconscious processing of
environmental stimuli - determined by degree of development or 'consciousness
state' - is combined with conscious thought processes. The brain responds consciously to 'stimuli in
the field of focus' - remembers, organizes, analyzes, integrates, evaluates
or 'perceives' while
it responds subconciously to stimuli which are peripheral to the field of focus. In other words, the brain's
conscious interpretation and perception of stimuli in the field of focus depends on the
contextual framework provided by the subconscious perception of peripheral stimuli.
Perception which involves total and integrated functioning of the brain is 'holistic
perception'.

Holistic perception leads to complete cognition involving
intuition of 'creative intelligence' making it the most effective for adaptability.

Human adaptability depends on gratification of the instinctive motives for human behaviour i.e. 'human needs'.Human needs include not only the obvious physiologicalneeds for survival of the organism and the species but also the basic psychological 'ego needs' and the 'higher psychological needs'- the 'spiritual needs' or 'metaneeds'. The human
organism has an instinctive responsibility
to its own personal growth and development - a function of fulfillment
of the intrinsic motives for human behaviour or
'human needs'. Human needs are rooted in the instinct for self-preservation. The human
needs are built into the biological constitution of the human
organism as a 'hierarchy of needs' which can be described in terms of varying degrees of urgency or 'prepotency'
(Maslow). One need is more prepotent than another if it is more urgent and
inhibits other needs. In the order of prepotency, first are the
physiological needs and physical needs for safety and survival - the 'survival needs'; second are the
psychological needs for safety and security - the 'security needs'; third are the
needs for care and affection or 'unconditional love'
- the 'belongingness needs';
fourth are the needs for self-respect or 'self-esteem' - the 'ego needs'; fifth are the needs for
spiritual growth and development of the social brain or 'socialisation' - the
'spiritual needs' or 'metaneeds'. The survival
needs, security needs, belongingness needs, ego needs and
spiritual needs which are interrelated constitute the source of 'motivation' for learning
i.e. 'intrinsic motivation'. Intrinsic motivation -
unlike 'extrinsic motivation' - engages personality growth and development. At the
various stages of developmental growth and personality development - 'socio-cognitive
stages' - the human needs rise to the surface of consciousness and become
motivational for behaviour. The individual's behaviour is dominated by the need
which is motivational at the stage of development which they have reached.
Complete development is a function of
normal moral, intellectual, emotional and psychological or 'spiritual
growth' which
results from motivation by the metaneeds i.e. 'metamotivation'.

Metamotivation is functional in the development of
moral consciousness... construction of rational conscience.

Function of the rational conscience is to
protect personal integrity required for social adaptability Survival of the human organism as a
social organism depends on the ability to adapt to the complexities of changing social
conditions i.e. social adaptation or 'adaptability'.
Human adaptability depends on the capacity to make connections between learning
and life experience and this involves intuition of rational conscience. Conscience is the biologically based cognitive system which
evolved through natural selection as the 'moral faculty' of human
intelligence. The conscience is the core of guiding values or 'social values'
which have been sought by theologians and philosophers throughout human history
i.e. 'human values'. Human values are values of
the highest consciousness state of 'self-transcendance'. In the
'transcendental realm of consciousness' the individual is aware of the
rational valuing process of conscience - an emergent property of the
brain. Developed conscience is the source of human morals or
'virtues' - goodness, beauty, justice, spiritual love, joy,
'truth' and so on. As the source of virtues, the conscience is the human 'spiritual
equipment' with which the organism depends for adaptability to the
complexities of changing social conditions i.e 'social
intelligence'. Social intelligence is a function of moral 'intuition'
- intuitive intelligence or 'creative intelligence'. Creative intelligence is based on awareness of the natureof the human personality or
'human nature'defined in terms of
human needs.Individual
awareness of human nature or 'self-knowledge' is required
for accurate evaluation of the social environment and subsequent
adaptation.

Effective adaptation to changing social conditions depends on the
function of conscience as guardian of personal integrity.

Inhibition of spiritual growth
results in 'antisocial behaviour'... human wickedness or 'evil'
of psychosis or
'psychopathy'... authoritarian conscience is not functional
in adaptabilityFailure to gratify the
ego-needs results in lack of spiritual growth. As a result the individual's
sense of identity is threatened and this leads to their continual dependence on others
for approval i.e. 'psychological dependence'. The
psychologically dependent individual will persist in their efforts to retain the
approval of others even if it means the repression of their growth needs. In the
absence of motivation for growth, the individual's thought and behaviour patterns
are dominated by...the basic psychological needs... dominate the
individual's motivation for behaviour. Hence they are designated as
'deficiency needs' or 'deficit needs'. Motivation by deficit needs
is 'deficit motivation'. Deficiency motivated growth results in
the 'metapathology' of 'diminished humanness' or 'dehumanisation'
i.e. 'neurotic
development' or 'neurosis'.
Neurosis involves the irrational projection of of images of perfection
ideals onto an external authority and its subsequent internalisation as 'authoritarian
conscience'. Construction of authoritarian conscience involves the interaction of two processes
which are based on
the instinctive needs to admire, to have an ideal, to strive for perfection:
first the perfection of character is projected onto an external authority -
parental, religious or state authority; second the projected image of perfection is internalised or 'introjected' in the individual's
consciousness. Internalisation of the projected image leads to the individual's
unshakable conviction in the external authority as the personification of the
perfect character. The conviction is so strong that it is immune to all
empirical evidence which might prove to contradict it. The power of fear for the
authority replaces the power of ethical reasoning... the individual loses the
capacity for rationality and reason. As a result the conscience which is
constructed becomes increasingly authoritarian and irrational and this leads to
the rigidity of authoritarian conscience. The irrationality of authoritarian conscience interferes with
comprehensive understanding of the self and of others preventing the
formation of meaningful interpersonal relations.

Authoritarian conscience is
inadequate for effective evaluation of social conditions because it fails to produce
behaviour which is adaptive to changes in the social environment and can lead to socially inadaptive
or 'antisocial behaviour' and 'human wickedness' or 'evil'.

Evil as antisocial behaviour is a direct result of the abnormal
conditions for growth which are prevalent in a cultural environment which
focuses on the control of human needs. The forces of external control deprive
the individual of the means for gratification of instinctive spiritual needs. As
a result their feelings towards them become ambivalent and they perceive them as
not only appealing but frightening as well. Fear for the spiritual needs
stimulates psychological reaction responses of repression and denial further
inhibiting metamotivation and stimulating deficit motivation. The resulting
inhibition of spiritual growth prevents the
inner development to maturity through the
development of inherent human potentialities i.e.'self-atualisation'.

Individual self-actualisation is the basis for social cooperation or 'normal socialisation'...
normal socialisation depends on development of critical consciousness...
the aim of education as 'critical practice'

Implications for education: education for
adaptability is based on human need for mature growth or
'self-actualisation'... 'holistic
education'.... Effective socialisation depends on development of the capacity for
sceptical and
non-dogmatic
thinking or 'critical
thinking or 'criticism'
i.e. 'critical consciousness'. Critical consciousness
is a function of the natural development of critical
and creative attitude about the nature of the environment. Adaptability of the
individual in any cultural context depends on critical consciousness as the basis for quick and effective thinking which
results in the individual's immediate evaluation of the environment. Degree of
accuracy of evaluation depends on degree of critical consciousness - a function
of personality development. Development of critical consciousness depends
on the significance of education in its function as effective facilitation of the individual's capacity
for adaptability to the cultural context. The degree to which the individual
conforms to the values and belief systems of the culture depends on the degree
to which the educational system cultivates conformity to those cultural values
and belief system... to which the individual is enculturated. The degree to
which the educational system contributes to the 'enculturation' process
depends on the philosophical assumptions upon which it functions. The
educational process for the individual within a cultural context involves
conscious thought patterns in the framework of unconsciously processed
environmental stimuli of the cultural consciousness. Adaptability depends on the
notion of education of the whole person as self-directed learning for the development of critical consciousness and critical faculties i.e. the practice
of criticism or 'critical
practice'. Critical practice is necessary for accurate evaluation, rational
decision making and creative or 'adaptive' behaviour i.e. 'adaptability'.
Adaptability to changing social conditions depends on education which encourages
self-directed learning - education for life and learning as a way of
being... learning how to learn. The emphasis is on competency in life or 'education
for life'.

Education for life involves the continual
discovery of new meanings of life... continual intellectual awakening which
comes from the light of learning or 'enlightenment'.

The educational process for the individual within a
cultural context involves conscious thought patterns in the framework of
unconsciously processed environmental stimuli of the cultural consciousness. The
educational process is significant in terms of the individual's 'individuality
in a cultural context'. The culture's educational system reproduces the cultural
values and the belief systems of the cultural consciousness. The degree to which
the individual conforms to the values and belief systems of the culture depends
on the degree to which the educational system cultivates conformity to those
cultural values and belief systems. Thus the nature of 'individuality' in a
cultural context is determined by the assumptions underlying the educational
process and the educational system. The degree to which the individual's thought
and behavior patterns are characteristic of the values and belief systems of the
culture depends on the degree to which the individual is enculturated. The
degree to which the educational system contributes to the 'enculturation'
process depends on the philosophical assumptions upon which it functions.

Education
which reproduces the cultural values and belief systems of the cultural
consciousness -
traditional education as 'schooling' - is not
effective for adaptability to social change. The assumptions underlying the educational process and
the educational system: in the traditional paradigm of education, the aim of education has been considered in terms of the individual's 'usefulness to society'.Since their beginning, traditional schools have been institutions of education as compulsory learning. Today's fragmented and assemblylineapproach toeducation continues the tradition of compulsory education. In
the American
'cultural context'
traditional educationcontinuesto promote values
of capitalismand to foster adult 'immaturity'. It ignores the individual's instinctive striving for self-actualisation
-

The individual in the modern technological society must be acquainted
with an increasing amount of objective knowledge. He must be able to make
responsible decisions for himself in order to survive and adapt to the demands
of the society. Therefore his need for subjective development must be
acknowledged, respected and prioritized in the educational institution which is
responsible for his 'education.'
The aim of education for development of the whole person i.e.
'holistic education'.

Holistic education fosters holistic learning
which
is effective for adaptability. Holistic
learning is compatible with the natural processing functions of the brain i.e.
'brain-based learning'.

Brain-based' wholistic learning is compatible with the
natural functioning of the brain. It involves those natural processing functions
of the brain which constitute thinking and acquiring knowledge in the act of
'cognition'. Brain based education involves the natural learning functions of
the brain and brain-based learning involves the natural 'thinking' functions of
the brain.

Adaptation in human evolution
l858 theory of evolution of Darwin and Wallace described in
the book The Origin of Species published in l859 their thesis supported by the
available evidence, continues to be supported by new evidence, and remained
valid for well over a century.

The current version of Darwin's theory, called neo-Darwinism, derives from a synthesis of the evolutionary theory with the more
recent knowledge of genetics and genetic theory (formulated in the l920s,'30s
and '40s) According to neo-Darwinism, organisms best adapted to a given
environment survive to reproduce offspring and in this way pass on the favorable
characteristics. Changes in the environment can render those same
characteristics unsuitable for the organism's survival and reproduction.
Spontaneous changes in the genetic material of the organism, called mutations,
take place irrespective of the conditions in the organism's environment. If the
organism is well adapted to an environment and the environment does not change,
the mutations are not passed on to following generations. If the environment
changes and a spontaneous mutation contributes to the adaptability of the
organism in the new environment, then that mutation increases the chances of the
organism's survival. The mutation of 'survival value' is 'selected'. 'Selection'
of the mutation is a result of its ability to increase the chances of the
organism's capacity for survival and reproduction,and its passage to the
offspring and succeeding generations.

Biological organisms respond to environmental conditions in the process of
carrying out the various life functions. In doing so they modify the
environmental conditions. As a result of the modification of their living
conditions, the relations of the organisms to the conditions are modified. The
process is one of reciprocal adaptation - organisms continually adapt to the
modified conditions - is required for the maintenance of life functions (co-evolution).
Human organisms are involved in the same sort of process. For the human organism
the environmental conditions are cultural as well as physical. In a cultural
environment, physical conditions are modified by the complex of social customs,
traditions, occupations, interests and purposes. With the use of language, the
contents of the cultural conditions can be stated as problems for inquiry. The
environment in which human organisms are involved is their 'commonsense'
environment - their 'world'. They make common sense inquiries in order to
discover what adjustments in their behavior are require for the maintenance of
environmental conditions which are necessary for their continued survival and
the survival of the human species. The human activity known as 'science' is a
manifestation of the need to make commonsense inquiries about the environment
upon which it depends for its life functions. Look at the human as a biological
organism to understand.

The learning process combines the processing of environmental peripheral
stimuli with conscious thought processes involved in cognition. The educational
process for the individual within a cultural context involves conscious thought
patterns in the framework of unconsciously processed environmental stimuli of
the cultural consciousness. The educational process is significant in terms of
the individual's 'individuality in a cultural context'. The culture's
educational system reproduces the cultural values and the belief systems of the
cultural consciousness. The degree to which the individual conforms to the
values and belief systems of the culture depends on the degree to which the
educational system cultivates conformity to those cultural values and belief
systems. Thus the nature of 'individuality' in a cultural context is determined
by the assumptions underlying the educational process and the educational
system. The degree to which the individual's thought and behavior patterns are
characteristic of the values and belief systems of the culture depends on the
degree to which the individual is enculturated. The degree to which the
educational system contributes to the 'enculturation' process depends on the
philosophical assumptions upon which it functions. The wholistic learning
process involves the 'orchestration' of the so-called mental 'powers' -
imagination, intuition, associations, questioning, synthesizing, thinking
skills.

The human brain is characterized by a natural capacity for observation and
inquiry - 'curiosity' - essential for the learning process which is necessary
for survival of the individual in a complex environment. , the brain's natural
capacity for observation and inquiry are characteristic features of the
specialized human brain of the socialized human being. Survival of the human
species depends on natural human curiosity and the natural development of
critical and creative thinking. It depends on the development of the
individual's critical attitude about the nature of the environment.'critical
consciousness'

The natural functions of the brain are concerned with its special
ability to search for meaning in the environment. As a product of millions of
years of evolution through natural selection, the specialized brain functions
have ensured the survival of the human species. For its millions of years of
survival as a species, the human being has depended on the brain's ability to
search for meaning in the environment. The brain's efficient evaluation of the
environmental context of experience has depended on the natural selection of its
characteristic complex thinking functions. The natural thinking processes
constitute the brain's natural capacity for processing complex stimuli in the
physical, social and cultural environment.

'Brain-based' wholistic learning is compatible with the natural functioning
of the brain. It involves those natural processing functions of the brain which
constitute thinking and acquiring knowledge in the act of 'cognition'. Brain
based education involves the natural learning functions of the brain and
brain-based learning involves the natural 'thinking' functions of the brain.

The thinking skills of the brain can best be understood
in terms of behavioural adaptation for survival in a process of evolution
through natural selection.

The wholistic learning process involves the
'orchestration' of the so-called mental 'powers' - imagination, intuition,
associations, questioning, synthesizing, thinking skills. Survival of the human species depends on natural human
curiosity and the natural development of critical and creative thinking. It
depends on the development of the individual's critical attitude about the
nature of the environment. Survival depends on the development of the
individual's 'critical consciousness' in the context of a cultural environment.
The natural functions of the brain are concerned with its special ability to
search for meaning in the environment. As a product of millions of years of
evolution through natural selection, the specialized brain functions have
ensured the survival of the human species. For its millions of years of survival
as a species, the human being has depended on the brain's ability to search for
meaning in the environment. The brain's efficient evaluation of the
environmental context of experience has depended on the natural selection of its
characteristic complex thinking functions. The natural thinking processes
constitute the brain's natural capacity for processing complex stimuli in the
physical, social and cultural environment.